Roma winger Stephan El Shaarawy expects Italy to soak up the limelight as one of the Euro 2024 ‘protagonists.’ In an interview with RAI Sport, the ex-Milan star hailed the team’s progress under ‘great coach’ Luciano Spalletti, insisting Gli Azzurri will land in Germany to leave their mark.
“We have a great coach and a solid group that is training well. Our idea is to go to Germany and be protagonists,” the Italy international said, as quoted by Gianluca Di Marzio. “Spalletti is very demanding, but he has very clear ideas on what he wants, and we are following him.
“We’re eager to make our mark, but we need to be up to the task because the level is very high in this competition.”
Drawn in the so-called ‘group of death,’ alongside Albania, Croatia, and Spain, Italy head to Euro 2024 as reigning champions. But this is a much-changed squad compared to the one that triumphed in the Wembley final three years ago.
Though the team’s shortcomings came to the fore in a tepid 0-0 draw against Turkey on Tuesday, El Shaarawy believes Italy could have their say in Germany. His admission may not seem legit, considering Gli Azzurri’s notorious struggles since conquering the last tournament.
Indeed, Italy failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup while they’re still trying to figure things out amidst a generational shift. Given the circumstances, advancing past this highly competitive group would be a success for Spalletti’s injury-hit squad.
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